Oh Canada!

Our parent company is in Canada and until now I have never seen an advantage to this. Then they announced our Holiday schedule and this weekend I get Friday and Monday off! Nice. Why this sudden act of generosity? Well Friday is Canada Day. Monday is the Fourth of July. This way we all get a 4-day weekend and everyone is happy. There will be more posts today, but do not expect anything new till Tuesday. Happy Fourth of July!

Course 4 - Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Caesar Salad, Vacche Rosse Parmigiano

PAIRING 2003 Domaine Vincent Delaporte-Sancerre "Chavignol" Loire Valley

This was small. VERY small. But the ingredients were perfect. The drops of balsamic vinaigrette added a great twist to the taste and the mushrooms were cut so thin that their flavor seemed reduced as not to overpower the small salad.

Commit insurance fraud, get an A in Chemistry

It is generally accepted that teachers in this country are underpaid. And as several Americans have done at one point or another, a Chemistry teacher in Houston got behind on her car payments. So she put herself on a budget and paid-off the car.

Not really. Rather than have the car get repossesed, she gave two failing students passing grades for stealing her car and burning it in the forest so she could collect the insurance.

The teens initially thought her scheme was a joke, but Fox (the teacher) continued to pursue them. On May 27, the last day of school, the students took the unlocked 2003 Chevrolet Malibu from a shopping mall, drove it to a wooded area and set it on fire.

Senior fire investigator Dustin Deutsch of the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office











If that were not bad enough, the teacher reported the car stolen the same day her students took it and immediately went out and bought a new Toyota.

Oh, what a feeling!

Read more at SFGate.com.

Course 3 - Thailand

Course 3 - Thailand
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

THAILAND - Pacific Dungenesse Crab and White Corn-Curry Soup and King Prawn, spicy Peanut Sauce and Green Mango Salad

PAIRING - 2002 Domaine Francois Chidaine "Clos du Breuil" Montlouis Sur Loire

Wow. The bowl was served with just the crab, and they came by and filled it with the White Corn-Curry poured from a French Press. This was excellent as well, probably my favorite. The soup was flavorful, without being too hot. As you can tell from the side-dish, they fit a lot of ingredients in a very small space.

My wine knowledge is limited, but at this point each tasting was extremely well-suited for each dish.

Course 2 - Japan

Course 2 - Japan
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

JAPAN - Big Eye Tuna Tartare, Sesame Vinaigrette and Edamame Foam (on the right) with Kampachi Sashimi, Bonito Gelee, Yuzu Koshu and Daikon Radish Salad.

PAIRING - Takasago Shuzo "Divine Droplets" Junmai Daiginjo, Hokkaido

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I could have eaten just this one dish all night. The tuna with the edamame foam was excellent, though it did take a bit to acclimate to a foam that tastes like edamame. The other half of the dish was just as savory and shows how some complimentary flavors can make great sashimi even better.

For those counting, I had a dirty gin martini as a cocktail, the tequila with the first dish and now some fantastic unfiltered saki. Two courses down, eight to go!

L'Auberge - First Course - Mexico

Frozen Margarita Deconstructed Lobster Taco
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

MEXICO - Frozen Margarita Deconstructed Lobster Taco

PAIRING - This one was it's own pairing.

I love meals that include instructions. Step one, take a bite of the tortilla strip and drink half of the tequila on the right. Then eat the lobster in the spoon, finish the remaining tequila and shoot the other tequila on the left. As you can tell, these were very small shots of tequila so no one was going to get drunk on these. The first tequila was light and easy and complimented the tortilla and the lobster. The final tequila was much stronger, but obviously of a very high quality.

Brilliant, light and fun.

L'Auberge Carmel

While in Carmel with my folks, we went to dinner at L'Auberge. The place is nuts. The $85 eight-course tasting dinner is fantastic and for an additional $85 you get a wine pairing with dinner. This is not how I eat everyday, but I was raised to appreciate good food. If you are looking for a great romantic dinner, this is the place. Unfortunately, I was with my parents. Still, for a special occasion, I would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant and inn.

In typical form, I took a picture of each course and will post a series of reviews over the next few days.

L'Auberge Carmel

I 'm back!

The parents are back in Florida and for various circumstances my trip to Chicago has been postponed, so I am back in the office for a three-day week.

I just took a look at my site traffic and saw that a few of you were still checking unKempt even in my absence. So after four days of stale content I am back with a whole new round of posts. Sit back and enjoy the Kempness.

Liger attack

liger
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

This kid got the shit-end of the stick this week. Not only was he attacked by a tiger, but then as the owner pulled the tiger off, a lion came in a bit him. Oh yeah, and he lives in Minnesota!

Was this kid's name Napoleon Dynamite?

This one really does suck. Too bad there wasn't a bear around to pull off the trifecta. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Read more at SFGate.com.

Where should we hide our drugs?

Twinkie
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

The DEA confiscated 17 bricks of cocaine in Arizona. After analyzing them, they found that each brick of cocaine hid a brick of heroine.

"Dude, let's hide the heroine inside the cocaine - they will never find it there!"

Is this some kind of new drug Twinkie?

The DEA believes this was to deceive the smugglers who charge a higher rate for carrying heroine.

Thanks to Boing Boing!

The parental unit has arrived

The 'rents are in town on vacation to see their favorite son (or at least their favorite son that is not married or a minister.) Last night we had a great dinner at El Raigon (thanks Randy) and tomorrow we are off to Carmel. But tonight, they meet my friends, AKA most of the people that read this Blog. So be on your best behavior and if you are at all in doubt about a certain discussion point or story, live by the saying WWKDTMAHPL.

(What Would Kemp Do To Me After His Parents Leave)

UPDATE - In the comments, the posts from hootiemcboob are from my brother, the minister.

I can't stop

I am on a call right now and I can still post!

This came from Florida (thanks Susan) and is pretty neat. You play 20 Questions against a computer (database). It does a good job. It guessed my first answer in 20 Qs and I stumped it the second time. Follow the rules and have fun!

20q.net

One of those days

Don't expect much news here today. I have calls scheduled at 10, 11, 1, 2, and 4. Damn, my job is getting in the way of my Blog.

New Editor

Oh joy - new software to play with. I am trying some new Blogging software that will let me do lot's of exciting things. "What kind of exciting things" you ask? Well...

Left

Center

Right

• Bullets
• Bullets
• Bullets

1. Numbers
2. Numbers and
3. More Numbers

A rainbow of colors

And more sizes
And old new FORMATTING.
This is going to be fun.

Actually, I could have done most of this before, but it would have been laborious. This new software makes it very easy.

You can try ecto here - http://ecto.kung-foo.tv

How to turn off a woman's emotions

"God gave man a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to run one at a time."

Robin Williams

According to researchers in the Netherlands, God gave women emotions, but they are completely absent during orgasm.

"At the moment of orgasm, women do not have any emotional feelings," says Gert Holstege of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

Their next study will be to find what happens in the female brain directly after orgasm.

And just to be fair...

"The team has already done a similar study involving 11 men, which revealed far less deactivation during orgasm than in women. However, Holstege says the results are probably unreliable and need to be repeated. The problem is that PET scanners measure activity over two minutes - and in men it is all over in a few seconds."

Read more here.

Lucky One

Imaging you work as a caretaker at the Kwang Sung Temple in Pandamaran and you run across an abandoned puppy on the steps when you arrive at work in the morning. Doing your job, you pick-up the puppy to move him and get him some food. As you pick him up, you notice there is more to this puppy than normal - two more legs and an extra penis!

That happened on Friday in Pandamaran and the temple has taken the six-legged dog to be a sign of good fortune and they have adopted the puppy and named him Ong Fatt (Lucky One). Click Here to read more and see a picture.

Accident

Accident
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

I think I can see a few that aren't broken!

You have to click on the picture to get the full effect.

Thanks to Matt!

If you can't beat 'em, brainwash 'em!

From The Washington Post:"

WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon awarded three contracts last week, potentially worth up to $300 million over five years, to companies it hopes will inject more creativity into its psychological operations efforts to improve foreign public opinion about the United States, particularly the military.

"We would like to be able to use cutting-edge types of media," said Col. James Treadwell, director of the Joint Psychological Operations Support Element, a part of Tampa-based U.S. Special Operations Command. "If you want to influence someone, you have to touch their emotions."

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

One of the Goodyear Blimps crashed in Florida today. Unless the thing pops like a balloon, that has to be the most incredibley uneventful aviation accident possible. Both crew members survived, uninjured.

No I can't get Nena's 99 Luftballons out of my head.

Read more at CNN.

Sidewalk

Sidewalk
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Everyday I walk the same stretch of sidewalk to get to the BART (train), but today I took the time to read what was written in the concrete. It makes me happy to know that someone is out there patrolling for boners.

Procrastination Thursday

Procrastination
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

This has been crawling around the Web for while, but it is a great site.

55 Optical Illusions & Visual Phenomena
These are fun, they are work safe and they all include explanations on how your eyes are being tricked.

WARNING: This site is no fun if you have a hang over.

Will the real Deep Throat please stand up?

June 20, 2005 U.S. News & World Report
Out Loud
"I know this will surprise many of you; the truth is, I'm Deep Throat"

Former President Ford, vice president under former President Nixon, joking at a dinner in his honor

PODCASTS! I GOTTA HAVE MORE PODCASTS!

iPodding
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Continuing with my campaign that anyone with an MP3 player/computer and functioning ears should listen to podcasts, here are some more suggestions for your aural enjoyment.

Coverville - a show dedicated to cover songs. This week has a great version of Coldplay's Yellow by Petra Haden.

Mash-up - Take the music from one song and the lyrics from another, stick them in a blender and add some samples until smooth.

"You got your lyrics in my music!"
"You got your music in my lyrics!"
"Together, they are... Delicious!"

SF vs. Dublin - Commute

BART
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

This is a no brainer - working closer to where I live would be FANTASTIC. I spend an hour and a half commuting in each direction and it sucks. I leave before my friends get up and I get home after they have been to the pub, had dinner and are watching a movie. There are no "meet me downtown for lunch" invitations. By the time I get to happy hour, it is over. So in general it stinks.

Rather than whine all day, I have found some ways to make it more bearable. BART has given me some of my time back and it is important that I use it.

- Email - This helps me get a jump on the day, but I always feel like the company is just getting more of my time.

- Podcasts - These are brilliant - I can be entertained, exposed to new music and I might learn something. AND they work when I am in the Transbay Tunnel or underground!

- Blog Entries - These bits of gold don't just 'come to me.' Each entry requires hours of thought and several revisions. BART is my muse.

- Games - Not video games, but BART games. Three of my favorites are:
1. What's that smell?
2. Why are we stopped in between stations?
3. What would happen if and earthquake hit right NOW?

BART beats driving, but I would sure like to work in city limits.

Tally:
SF 3
Dublin 0

Empty Tivo

Bored Tivo
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

My Tivo is bored. With the onslaught of summer repeats, there are no new programs worth recording. The last of The Deadliest Catch was on last night and other than my daily regiment of FoodTV shows, the horizon looks bleak.

So now I am soliciting suggestions for video entertainment for those times when it is too dark to get on my bike, and I do not feel like going to the pub. Please submit your TV and Movie recommendations (at least Netflix doesn't take a summer hiatus) for my viewing pleasure.

Pac-man turns 25!

Pac-man
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Happy Birthday to the little yellow distraction that to this day, occasionally causes my productivity to drop. Then again, the same could be said about my Blog.

Read more - SFGate.com

Podcasting

podcast
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Recently I have been researching podcasts - recorded audio shows created for you to download to your computer or MP3 player (they are not iPod specific, any player or computer will work.) In my research, I have become addicted.

The shows can come from big name media outlets like Newsweek and Rush Limbaugh (shudder) or from independent sources like a guy in his basement. The majority of the content available now is independent, and there are some quality shows out there. One of the "fathers" of podcasting is Adam Curry from MTV fame and his show is one of the best I have found.

So how does it work? Well it is not entirely easy right now, but help is on the way (iTunes and Odeo plan to make access much easier in the near future.) In the mean time you can see a directory of available podcasts at PodcastAlley.com.

Try them out. I really like:

Daily Source Code (Adam Curry)
The Dawn and Drew Show
Keith and the Girl

Try these out. If you need any help, please let me know.

Rafting the South Fork

Rafting the South Fork
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

As many of you know, a bunch of us went white water rafting on the South Fork of the American river this past weekend and not everything went as planned. There is always the risk that your raft may flip and this was well communicated to us. We were also told that the river was flowing at 5,500 cubic feet of water per second, triple its regular rate.

"Hey guys, let's split up the first-timers among the two boats," said yours truly. What happened? All the newbies got in one boat. Now, can anyone guess which boat flipped?

(Note 1 - The boat flipping was not in any way the fault of the newbies. My thought process was to split them up in case something like this happened so all of them would not be soured by the experience. The rafting company did an EXCELLENT job and I would highly recommend them to anyone. A link to their site can be found on the right.)

(Note 2 - This picture is not of our group, but rather of real rafters getting dunked in the Class V rapids on the Zambezi River. The original can be found at National Geographic)

Roughing it in Times Square

Roughing it in Times Square
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

What happens when you grab your tent and set-up camp in the middle of Times Square? You meet cool people, get to chat with the fuzz (around 10 times) and you get filmed for MTV2.

Amit Gupta and friends pitched two tents in the middle of Times Square for one night just to see what would happen. The only rule was that they could not leave their concrete island campsite. Anyone up for attempting this in Union Square? Follow the link to read more and see additional pictures. Amit Gupta's Weblog.

Even mold won't eat them

Even mold won't eat them
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Here is something to think about before you hit the McDonald's drive-thru. Inspired by a DVD extra on Supersize Me, Carrie McLaren at Stay Free left McDonald's fries and a burger uncovered for a week next to a local burger chain's equivalent. Check out the resilience of those fries after five days.

I remember a high school science teacher telling me that today's average (American) human body decomposes significantly slower than those 50 years ago due to the volume of preservatives we consume. This little experiment attests to that nicely.

Read and see more pictures at Stay Free!

Thanks to Boing Boing.

Drive-in, Drive-out

worldcup
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Ah, the World Cup - It always brings world-class soccer, sportsmanship, international camaraderie and sex to mind. Sex? Dortmund, Germany is hosting some of the games and in an attempt to provide adequate service to their tourists, they are building drive-in "sex garages" to handle the expected increase in prostitution in the city when the World Cup arrives next year.

"The World Cup has put us under added time pressure, as we don't want a situation where prostitutes and their clients disturb residential areas," the official said.

How thoughtful. The huts will be located near condom machines and snack bars.

REUTERS

SF vs. Dublin - Food

San Francisco cuisine is unparalleled. It is a foodie's town. From high-end, nationally (internationally?) recognized restaurants, to some of the best low-cost 'street food,' you can eat better food in SF than any other place I have lived. Still, we do have a Hooters.

Dublin, CA - The opposite. Situated in the middle of urban sprawl, Dublin offers the finest in cookie-cutter, strip-mall dining. Hungry for Italian? Macaroni Grill is across the street. Jonesin' for a sub? Even Jarred would be happy with our Subway. Got a hankerin' for burgers? Fudruckers, McDonalds and In 'n Out are within a mile. (Well, I kinda like In 'n Out.) Want to make a run for the boarder? We have four! La Salsa, On the Boarder, Chevy's and Taco Bell - your choice! Oh yeah, we have a Hooters here too.

Then there is the office cafeteria. Some of you have heard me gripe about this one before, but it still amazes me that over five 'chefs' can cook entire meals without the use of salt OR pepper! Don't even ask me how they make their cole slaw taste like vanilla.

Tally:
SF 2
Dublin 0

The SUMO

The SUMO
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

I really have nothing to say about this thing.

Well, maybe at least one comment - this has Darwin Award written all over it. Inflated, immobile, rapidly following head first behind a craft most likely powered by a blade spinning at thousands of RPMs.

More pics and info can be found at Gizmag.

iCrap

iCrap
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

No, I did not make this at home, but perhaps I should have. Though many of you would accuse me of having my iPod on too often, I have never combined iPod listening and bathroom activities.

The bathroom is strictly reserved for reading and playing games on my cell phone.

Thanks to Gizmodo

SF vs. Dublin - Weather

SF vs. Dublin
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

My hour commute is a sacrifice I make to work where I want and live where I want. Still there are drawbacks.

Today's drawback is weather. As you can see from the chart, there is quite a difference in the average temperatures this time of year (Dublin in red, SF in blue).

A typical day begins with me donning a jacket in the morning in SF. Take off jacket on BART. Jacket back on in Dublin for my walk. By 11 AM, the jacket is on the hook. Carry the jacket back to BART, and usually work up a sweat walking to the station. Get to SF. Freeze. Put the jacket back on. Add a sweater and/or a heavier jacket by 9 PM.

Tally:
SF 1
Dublin 0

Subtle?

Subtle?
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

This weekend I attended a backpacking clinic (or as my friends mocked, a 'walking class') hosted by REI at Mt. Tam. Overall it was a great class with a lot of technical training on footwear, ascending/descending and overcoming obstacles while carrying a 50 lbs pack. But cooler than all that was riding in the brand new Pimp-My-Ride REI van.

Coolest of all, was riding back in the REI van with all the other hikers, gear and instructors after hiking six miles with an 800 foot elevation change. Ah, the smells of nature.

Anakin The Switcher

Anakin The Switcher
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Little Anakin Skywalker argues for why he 'switched' from the Light Side of the Force to the Dark.

This is a fun parody of the old Mac ads where users would explain why their Macs were better than PCs. See the video HERE.

Thank you to www.tuaw.com.

What's my name?

emma
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

How popular is your name? Take a look at the Baby Name Wizard and see how many children were given your first name in any year since 1900. Sadly, Bertha and Gertrude are on their way out, while (gasp!) Kemp has never been in the top 1,000 names in any decade. Perhaps scariest of all is the increasing popularity of Emma. Hmm, what was that popular 90's - 00's sitcom show where the couple named their bastard child Emma?

Also, this is done is Java and is fun to watch. Type names in slowly to see it sort through all the other names.